INTERREG BOTNIA-ATLANTICA AND INTERREG NORD 2014-2020 28 Project staff from ECOnnect at a joint meeting to test mapping mussels and seaweed with a remote-controlled underwater drone near Ulvön in Västernorrland. winter, if climate change takes effect as our scenarios show, says Johnny. The results from the project provide a concrete picture of the underwater nature of the future. They enable both a direct comparison between the current situation and the future. The results also enable a closer analysis of the reasons behind the changes, as a direct result of the new digital methods being based on the climate change effects. – One thing I am very proud of is that we have succeeded in collaborating with SMHI, the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, and FMI, the Finnish Meteorological Institute, who have helped us with the climate scenarios. It is such a topical issue. In connection with, for example, the climate conference in Glasgow, it was extra fun to have access to current data and knowledge, says Johnny. The ECOnnect team has received several surprises during the project. – If you look at our area, we had expected the sea to be much sweeter in the future, with an expected increase in precipitation. But the forecasts from SMHI do not show any major difference in salinity. We had thought that the marine species would move south, but this is not what the forecasts indicate. It is a positive surprise, says Johnny. There is a great deal of interest in the material that the project produces. – Both from private individuals and from authorities. That’s why we produce quite a lot of communication material. Among
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MzE5MDM=